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Moving on to the next level.

Moving on to the next level.

Just to state that where the term 'hacker' is used I am referring to the real, true meaning. If you dont know I mean by this you are probably at the wrong site. If you dislike the term just put computer enthusiast/security guru! etc. instead of hacker. I have seen numorous debates over the use of 'hacker' and personally I use the term. I dont wish to see this thread become a debate over terminology.

This is the first in a series of ‘hacking theory’ tutorials/essays I have started to write. Before I post any more I would like to know what people think. Is it pointless? I am interested as it doesent contain any technical information. It is a pet project and this took only a few minutes but wanted to see what kind of reaction it would get before I begin on a longer set of essays.
Hope you enjoy,
Be honest!

Have you ever felt as someone interested in computers that you are stuck on a skill level that you are destined to be stuck at forever. This tutorial addresses that phase when as a newbie you feel you are unable to develop your skill. In other words a ‘how to get past the neophythe stage’.

Entering the world of computers can be daunting and scary. It is easy to be mislead by hopes of becoming some kind of Hollywood hacker *that damn film*. Most people begin whether they will admit it or not with these ideas in their heads, not the old skool people now they probably grew up coding in QBasic but that’s a different story *long live DOS!*. Now once you get past that awkward childish stage you may find yourself at a site like AntiOnline. Here hopefully if you are a newb you will discover what ‘hacking’ actually is. It may surprise that security is the direction you were always going in. Once you get the ethics you will find a wealth of information on offer. How to utilize it may be daunting for a newbie but the trip is worth it especially if you a still lost for a career! Of course not everybody enters the world of security through this way, some people grow up surrounded by computers. They spend their youth living, breathing and not sleeping round computers. For those of us who didnt, this is just another obstacle for us to overcome, but it can be done. For those of you born with a keyboard strapped to your hands, all I can say is you got a headstart!

Ok, so now you may be doubtful. All people have doubts when they enter a new field and security is no different. As a newbie in the field, one thing should occupy your mind. How can I make progress and develop myself and my skills. One problem I witness a lot is when a newbie tries to learn something new, say he takes a hand at programming or setting up a server, anything really. Once they hit a problem they may abandon that project in search of a new field. I recommend instead you work as hard as you can at overcoming any problems you come across, as someone intersted in computers you become essentially a problem solver. This will be your dedication, solving problems because you enjoy doing so. For examples of this just check out the boards, people essentially spend time solving problems for both the posters needs but also to develop their own skills.

As you progress and overcome any problems that face you, you will accumulate knowledge. This is what progress is all about. Tasks that once posed problems, no longer do. Why? Well because you solved them! This however takes, time and practice. Theory is good but practice is better. When you feel tasks become less difficult this is when you will feel like progress is being made. If you find that you skip over difficult problems and concepts that once hassled you as a newbie you can hardly claim that you have become better!

A problem with being a neophythe is that you may find yourself stuck in a rut, believing as it were that you are destined to be just average. Those people you see on IRC talking that crazy Unix stuff are just wizards, geniuses, I could never do that! This is a static position so many people find themselves in. A neophythe in order to elevate his talents must dedicate his/her time to developing on to the next stage, natural talent can be capitilised upon to amazing levels! Lets face they aint geniuses ( well some are ) they just work hard and love what they do. That’s why they have such extensive knowledge of their field. In a world where we have such access to education they is no denying that we can be more or less what we want to be (excluding dragons, hobbits and other such makey uppey things!). Is some-one elite because they have access to secret files on security! Bah! Its there for us all to utilize, now wheres that Windows source code…well you know what I mean!

Now if you have a problem you cannot overcome it will become a barrier holding you back from your goal ie security guru, programmer etc. It must be overcome for the sake of your development, this can be a problem shared. Work with others who are learning to solve your problem, beneifiting with their knowledge, try solve their problems, benefit them with your knowledge!

Now remember progression does not come with repetition, always look to elevate your skills. Once you have conquered one aspect of your field, move on for fear of being bogged down. Security is a wide field, abandon one corner and who knows who might trespass?
So, as I leave you I hope you find it in you to develop yourself as a security guru. Maybe you will go tackle that problem that’s been hindering your development!
Good luck!

that was excellent and well put...i am a newbie and you really helped...thanx...chad

also...there seems not to be enough newbie resources on this site and it would be cool to see more...it seems like you know what you are talking about....do you recommend a newbie take up learning a language like C++ or Perl or something....i am at a loss of where to start

Re: Moving on to the next level.

Good post, Ennis. Keep 'em coming... It's writings like this that help people become hackers, in the true, original sense.

Discouragement can be tough to overcome sometimes, and I know from experience. But quick discouragement can also be related to not wanting something bad enough (and that goes for anything really, computer related or not). For example, back in my days as a CS major, I'd get discouraged to the point where I'd procrastinate doing my assignments, wonder why they didn't work when I was doing them at the last minute, and the cycle would continue. Meanwhile, everyone else's would work, be done, whatever, and I figured that they were just smarter than I was. And in some cases, I'm convinced the intellegence thing played a part. Long story short, I ended up changing majors to MIS, but kept in touch with a lot of my CS friends. I'd often see some wicked source code they were working on, wish that I could do it, but figured I couldn't. Thankfully, I became so in awe of their abilities, that I decided that I wanted to be able to program as well and I decided to teach myself to program. I dusted off my old C book by Deitel, began reading, and would worked out some of the practice problems as well. Granted a lot of it (so far) has been **** I've done hundreds of times already, but since it's all been a while, I figured it was worth a review. The main difference I see now is my desire. I have it now, I didn't then, and it cost me on my undergrad GPA.

Another good point you make is that practice is better than theory. I've read many security related writings, be it theory or how-to's, but my lack of hands-on experience does limit me and I realize this. I once read an undergroud paper where they author said basically, "to be a hacker, you have to hack", and he's right, no matter what kind of hacker one wants to become. But in short, a person can read all they want, but it's getting hands-on and setting up your own network, server, getting your program to work, whatever, is where true knowledge is obtained. You'll run into problems and you'll have to solve them to move on.

Finally, I'd often wonder where I stand on in the hacker knowledge rankings. I finally decided that I don't feel like I"m a neophyte anymore, but I'm certainly not elite. I'm in the grey area somewhere in between, probably closer to the begginer side.

Ok sorry ennis and other AOers but im not going to sit back and kiss anyones ass here. You'll probably want to flame and neg me but im gonna go ahead and just say it... I've always posted whatever I wanted to and have never censored myself so im never gonna start that or change to please others...

I got into computers because I grew up around them. My grandma was a admin, my mom worked in tech support for awhile intil landing a few better computer related jobs. I had quit school when I was 13, most of my friends had either died or moved away so the only thing I have left was my mom's old colledge computer books & a few computers to entertain me. Like I said... it was all I had at the time so when someone calls me a "hacker" I become a bit offensive about it cause they are basicly saying that my major skill in life is sitting on my ****ing ass all day while mashing ****ing buttons. Im not proud of the fact that the hours I've spent on computers which probably equal years... years that have been wasted... and in end the end I will probably spend the rest of my days working tech-support or auto repair then waste even more of my life on electronics. I don't feel smart, I don't feel like I've contributed anything, I don't feel important. I don't need a ****ing label to enjoy computers... I do what I want just because I feel like doing things.

There is no ****ing "ranking" your either into computers or your not... and I also think the word "hacker" was ment as a complement to everyone who is into technical things... so calling yourself a "hacker" is just being stupid, a pompus pig, & not to mention greedy. Lets face the facts mostly 99.9% of the peaple reading **** like this want to label themselves as "hackers" for popularity, a job that doesn't involve phisical labor, to appear as someone who is "smart", or just for some excitment in their lame and boreing lives. All of which of course are trivial and lame reasons to become anything at all.

P.S. I just got PMed a few days ago about how to do "hacking" or "cracking" & ****. But I liked it better when there was more normal and smarter peaple running around on the board... so gee thanks alot for bringing back more ****ers here...